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Audience preference for downloads may affect marketing

This article in the Independent looks at how Hollywood may require a new marketing approach to handle the changing demand.

Is the Hollywood blockbuster finally eating itself? As cult movies attract a new audience who download more obscure films from the internet, so the marketing machine of the major studios is being called into question.

Every weekend in summer, multi-million-dollar would-be smashes go head to head. But by Monday morning, when the box-office figures are announced, movies that may have taken years to make are either crowned champions, as has just happened with The Dark Knight, or instantly dismissed – the sad fate of Speed Racer.

But a new generation of movie-download sites is offering fans an alternative to the summer blockbuster. Just as iTunes has transformed the record industry, so internet film download services – such as cinemanow.com in the US and vizumi.com in Britain – are beginning to have an impact on Hollywood, offering fans an unprecedented level of choice.